After travelling for years on sleeper buses, taking artists and bands all over the UK, we’ve been to our fair share of festivals.
The UK has an eclectic music scene with festivals taking place throughout the year.
We’ve made a list of the top music festivals alongside which ones are suitable for your band depending on the genre of music you play.
Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury is a small town based in Somerset in the South West of England. Don’t let the ‘small town’ throw you off though, Glastonbury festival is not only one of the most well-known in the UK, but also one of the largest and most prestigious music festivals in the world. Tens of thousands of visitors from all over attend each year to experience its vibrant atmosphere, it’s estimated that over the 5-day period around 200,000 people attend!
Over its 50 years running the festival has attracted some of the biggest names in music, including the likes of Radiohead, The Rolling Stones, Kanye West, Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, Oasis, Adele and many more. It’s widely known for the diverse line-up and attendance of artists from a range of genres. Whether you’re a rock, pop, hip-hop, electronic, folk, world music fan or anything else – there’s artists here that you’ll enjoy jamming out to.
Glastonbury can be considered one of the most exciting events on the global music calendar! An appearance here can be a career-defining moment for an artist. It’s exhilarating to connect with such an energetic crowd of all ages. Definitely a performance you’ll never forget. The festival was originally created as a celebration of art, culture and community and has remained true to this throughout its many years.
Not one to be overlooked!
Reading & Leeds Fest
Leeds fest, Reading fest! These two festivals are actually one, the same acts perform here on the same weekend in both places – just on alternate days. So, the Sunday line-up in Leeds may be the Saturday line-up in Reading. People from the UK get particularly excited about R and L as they’re considered one of, if not the biggest alternative music festival in the UK.
As well as hosting some big names in the alt music setting, Leeds and Reading also provides a platform for up-and-coming artists to showcase their talent. There are multiple stages including main stage and multiple smaller stages allocated to different genres such as punk, rock and alternative. There’s also food and drink stalls, comedy acts and even a dance tent. Some of the big names that’ve headlined here include The Strokes, Dua Lipa, Red hot Chilli Peppers, The 1975, Billie Eilish and Post Malone. Fans from all over the UK travel to spend the weekend with talented artists.
The crowd is passionate and enthusiastic, and the festival is largely documented across social media every year with people wanting to share their experience. This festival would not only be great exposure for your band but also, a great way to connect with fans and allow new people to hear your music, who may go home and search you up. Leeds and Reading are both fantastic cities too, we’ve been many times on our band tour buses, their always vibrant and bustling.
Download Festival
This rock festival takes place annually in Donnington Park, England. This is specifically a rock music festival, first held in 2003. Since then some of the bigger names they’ve hosted are Iron Maiden, Metallica, Linkin Park, ACDC, KISS and My Chemical Romance.
The name download sparked back in the noughties when illegal downloading of files was making a big impact to the music industry at the time. In an attempt to connect with a younger audience, Download festival was created – encouraging fans to once again engage with live music. Even though people have much easier access to music now-a-days through streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, live performances are still largely celebrated and very popular amongst the younger generation. There’s no experience quite like dancing to your favourite artist with a room full of people that love them too.
This year (2023) is the events fastest-selling in its history. It’s the 20th anniversary this year and there’s already been 60+ acts confirmed, its only growing every year! Get involved.
Don’t forget we deliver bands crews and equipment to venues every month on our sleeper buses, with a strong track record of successfully completed tours, festivals and events across the UK.
Isle of Wight Festival
The UK’s longest standing festival, albeit its suspension for many years. Established in 1968, it’s fame was cut short in 1970 after public safety concerns and changing cultural attitudes. The festival attracted over 200,000 people before it’s closure with the likes of The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Joni Mitchell playing there.
Then, in 2002 an established music promoter – John Giddings – seized the opportunity to re-launch it, a restart of the iconic music festival we know today. Since then they’ve hosted musicians such as Jay-Z, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, David Bowie, Blur and many more. Today’s features a mix of contemporary artists, established acts and emerging talent – averaging a draw in of around 70,000 people each year. Bands that perform here are usually in the rock, pop, hip hop, pop genres.
The actual festival is hosted on a scenic coastal site surrounded by stunning views of the countryside and the sea. It’s known for its welcoming setting and festival goers are encouraged to embrace the community. If you love an eccentric audience and a beautiful atmosphere then Isle of Wight is one for you.
Creamfields
Creamfields is specifically a festival for EDM (electronic dance music) lovers and is one of the largest in Europe, since its establishment in 1998. You can find it in Daresbury, Cheshire – near Liverpool and Manchester. Some of the biggest DJ’s, producers and live acts travel from across the globe to play here. In fact, it’s hard to meet an established DJ that hasn’t played Creamfields. There’s multiple performance areas featuring different genres of EDM including techno and house to trance.
Creamfields has built up a reputation surrounding its eccentric lighting and sound systems. The energy in the room speaks for itself. The likes of Calvin Harris, Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Skrillex, The Chemical Brothers and David Guetta have played here for fans that’ve travelled far and wide. Acts play from 1pm Saturday all the way through to 6am Sunday morning! Talk about partying all night.
Parklife
Parklife is based in Manchester and attracts hundreds of thousands of fans each year. It’s built up a reputation for its eclectic music scene – featuring a range of genres including but not limited to hip hop, grim and also EDM.
Featuring immersive rave exhibitions and personal dance floors, Parklife work with crews around the UK to collect some of the best sound systems offered in the country. The festival is even known for its impressive production values with grand stage designs and ethereal lighting. Perfect for bands looking to perform.
Parklife is also the ideal place for artists to connect with a diverse audience, as well as network with other artists due to the variety of genres featured. Some of the more well-known artists the festival has attracted are Frank Ocean, Florence + the Machine, Stormzy, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Becky Hill and The 1975.
We’ve driven to Heaton park before too on our Sleeper buses and it is a beautiful park with a very spacious setting. Manchester itself is one of the UK’s richest cities in culture, with vibrant night life and aa brilliant opportunity for festival goers. One to see!
Getting there
We love each UK festival for a different reason, but the main is the atmosphere. Live music really is incomparable and the fans show that. Playing in front of any of these audiences for the first time would be euphoric and a real accomplishment for any musician.
Whether it’s your first time playing a festival, or you’re revisiting because you loved playing there so much, we’d be happy to deliver you and your crew and your equipment in style – on board our luxurious tour buses.
If you’re an artist that likes traveling comfortably give us a call.
